Surfactants, even today, are the single most important cleaning ingredient in laundry and household cleaning products. Anionic surfactants, as a class, are the largest in terms of worldwide consumption and typically are used at levels as high as 30 to 40% of the detergent formulation. Other important surfactants used in consumer products include amine oxides, cationic surfactants, zwitterionic surfactants, alkyl polyglycoside surfactants, soaps, and fabric softening cationic surfactants. These surfactants provide additional cleaning benefits above and beyond what is provided by anionic surfactants, as well as other benefits such as enhanced foaming, enhanced skin mildness, and fabric softening. The introduction of the present invention's type of polybranching into these species provides enhanced cold water cleaning performance, enhanced performance in general, and process and rheology advantages. Furthermore, it is highly desired that such materials be readily biodegradable and substantially derived from biomaterials to make consumer products with a better sustainability profile.
Processes are disclosed herein to make novel surfactants useful in the formulation of consumer products such as personal care products and laundry and cleaning products.